{"id":618,"date":"2009-02-28T22:33:25","date_gmt":"2009-03-01T04:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ldswomenofgod.com\/blog\/?p=618"},"modified":"2012-03-21T21:39:46","modified_gmt":"2012-03-22T03:39:46","slug":"privileges-and-responsibilities-of-sisters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reliefsocietywomen.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/28\/privileges-and-responsibilities-of-sisters\/","title":{"rendered":"Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Under the direction of President Spencer W. Kimball, a meeting was called where all women twelve and older gathered together on September 16th, 1978.\u00a0 You can find his addresses compiled in a talk called, Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters.\u00a0 There were so many good parts to this talk, I had to share it with you.<\/p>\n<p>He lays out in detail what we should be doing as Women of God.\u00a0 Sometimes, while battling the daily grinds, we forget and get caught up in the world.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMay I begin with re-emphasizing some everlasting truths.\u00a0 My dear sisters, choose to keep the commandments of God.\u00a0 For men, for women, for young, for old, this is the secret to happiness, here and hereafter.\u00a0 Keeping them with self-mastery and personal discipline allows the real freedoms that exalt and sustain us.\u00a0 The basic commandments are as simple as they are true: the Ten Commandments as given by God to Moses and the addition to them of what the Savior said\u2014to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, might and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.<\/p>\n<p>Attend to your personal and family prayers and family devotions.\u00a0 Keep the Sabbath day holy in thought and deed.\u00a0 Live strictly the Word of Wisdom.\u00a0 Attend to all family duties.\u00a0 Keep your life clean and free from all unholy and impure thoughts and actions.\u00a0 Cultivate those associations and activities which will not threaten and lower your high, righteous standards.<\/p>\n<p>Study the scriptures.\u00a0 Thus you may gain strength through the understanding of eternal things.\u00a0 You young women need this close relationship with the mind and will of our Eternal Father.\u00a0 We want our sisters to be scholars of the scriptures as well as our men.<\/p>\n<p>You need an acquaintanceship with his eternal truths for your well being, and for the purposes of teaching your own children and all others who come within your influence.<\/p>\n<p>Be chaste and do everything in your power to help others to be.\u00a0 Be so absorbed with uplifting, enriching pursuits and pastimes that you leave no room for the negative or the evil that might move in to fill some bored or thoughtless void.<\/p>\n<p>Remember always that the Lord has sanctified some things, and they are not to be forgotten or departed from.\u00a0 They are divine principles, which if adhered to, will make you supremely happy.<\/p>\n<p>The words of all inspired prophets will teach you that violations of the law of chastity are sins in the eyes of your Heavenly Father.\u00a0 It is a transgression to be involved in any illicit sex activity such as fornication or adultery.\u00a0 It is a transgression to become involved in lesbianism or to engage in any lustful activity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These statements are pretty bold and direct.\u00a0 We need to hear the white against the black and gray.\u00a0 I appreciate a prophet who can cut through sludge with the two-edge sword of truth.<\/p>\n<p>I love his tenderness in these words:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cNow, the General Authorities are very much aware of the fact that many of our sisters are widows.\u00a0 Others have become divorced.\u00a0 Still others have never had the privilege of temple marriage.\u00a0 We want all such sisters to understand that when we speak of family life, it is not done to make them feel sad or unappreciated.\u00a0 The leaders of the Church have said often, and clearly, that women in such circumstances include some of the most noble spirits of our Father in heaven.\u00a0 Those who make the best of what life has given to them will be rewarded for all that they have done in the service of our Heavenly Father and their fellowman.<\/p>\n<p>Mormon women are basically strong, independent, and faithful. \u00a0They have chosen to live by a creed and a way of life that can be demanding at best.\u00a0 From the earliest days of the Church, active membership has meant faith, fortitude, denial, selflessness, and good service.<\/p>\n<p>Each of you should be grateful to be a woman!\u00a0 To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling.\u00a0 The righteous woman\u2019s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times.\u00a0 She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home\u2014which is society\u2019s basic and most noble institution.\u00a0 Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife.<\/p>\n<p>One of the important messages that emerges from the history of great women in all ages is that they cared more for the future of their families than for their own comfort.\u00a0 Such good women had a grasp of what matters in life.\u00a0 When called upon to do so, they could fashion a lovely city in the midst of a swamp or make the desert blossom as a rose.<\/p>\n<p>Never let it be said that you did not understand.\u00a0 Please think on these things.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I am continually amazed that our prophets have told us everything we should be doing during our sojourn on this earth.\u00a0 There is a long list of do\u2019s and don\u2019ts.\u00a0 The most important thing that impresses me is that it all matters.\u00a0 We are accountable for all of our choices, our level of obedience, and our endurance to the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Under the direction of President Spencer W. Kimball, a meeting was called where all women twelve and older gathered together on September 16th, 1978.\u00a0 You can find his addresses compiled in a talk called, Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters.\u00a0 There were so many good parts to this talk, I had to share it with you. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,476],"tags":[17,142],"class_list":["post-618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conference-talks","category-womanhood","tag-add-new-tag","tag-sisters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters &#8211; Relief Society Women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reliefsocietywomen.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/28\/privileges-and-responsibilities-of-sisters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters &#8211; Relief Society Women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Under the direction of President Spencer W. 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